The Open Society Foundations (OSF) has shown its confidence in Global Witness and wants to help build a campaigning organisation that is deep-rooted, long-lasting and even more effective, with a strong infrastructure... read more

"Africa's minerals, precious stones and other commodities should have brought better lives for African people. But for decades these trades have funded and fuelled some of the continent's most brutal wars. More... read more

“The Great Rip Off” shows range of crimes hidden by companies set up in U.S.
Owners of anonymous companies registered in U.S. states are ripping off innocent people and businesses across America, says a new report by... read more

[French version available here]
The European Union is failing to stifle a deadly trade in conflict minerals, a coalition of rights groups including Global Witness and Amnesty International warned today, weeks before new... read more

In a US$150 million deal announced at today’s UN Climate Summit in New York, the Government of Norway is partnering with the Government of Liberia to halt the destruction of Liberia’s rainforest. [1] The deal foresees... read more

Global Witness, Re: Common and Dotun Oloko welcome the freezing of funds as part of the continuing investigation into the deal for the OPL 245 oil block in Nigeria. Italian authorities are... read more

“Ebola is winning.” Liberia appeals for urgent help battling the disease that has West Africa under siege
Information about how to help is included at the bottom of this page.
Liberian campaigners say the... read more

Investigations group Global Witness has lodged a formal complaint with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), following the recertification of the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), which has been accused of driving a wave of... read more

When an oil company promises to suspend hugely controversial work in Africa’s oldest national park it should be cause for celebration. But the commitment by British oil company Soco to withdraw from Virunga... read more

British oil company Soco International and its contractors have made illicit payments, appear to have paid off armed rebels and benefited from fear and violence fostered by government security forces in eastern Congo,... read more

Source: Publish What You Pay Date: 18 Jul 2014
Publish What You Pay condemns the arrest of Ali Idrissa, ROTAB and PWYP Niger coordinator, taken from his home by Nigerien police at 04:00 am this morning. The arrest... read more

Today it was reported that Italian financial police raided the headquarters of the oil company ENI, Italy’s largest company. The raid is part of a fresh investigation into the Italian oil giant's role in acquiring... read more

First survey of company ownership in Myanmar reveals widespread secrecy in oil and gas sector
Click here to view infographic showing scale of problem
The majority of companies recently awarded oil and... read more

The UK-listed company, Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO), which is threatening to seize land owned by Liberians in defiance of commitments by Liberia’s President, will today receive a visit from affected communities. Members of... read more

Soco’s announcement indicating a pull-out from an iconic African park leaves too much wiggle-room
Spirit of statement immediately undermined by Deputy CEO’s comments in the Times
Soco must fully answer serious... read more

Campaigners demand explanation from Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has failed to prevent more than US$110 million from a corrupt Nigerian oil deal leaving the UK, even though it had powers... read more

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Read the briefing, South Sudan: the call for a moratorium on new oil contracts, click here.
The government of South Sudan must immediately issue a moratorium on all new contracts in its oil industry, warns Global... read more

The Queen is expected to use today’s speech to outline ground-breaking reforms which will force companies to declare who really owns and controls them, in a move strongly welcomed by Global Witness. The campaign group... read more

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The first set of company reports submitted under a landmark U.S. law that aims to stop the minerals trade fuelling violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fall short of the mark, warns Global Witness... read more

Initial company reports submitted under a landmark U.S. law that aims to stop the minerals trade fuelling violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are disappointing, warns Global Witness.
U.S.-listed... read more

The company has again failed to answer some fundamental questions about the OPL 245 deal and its continued lobby to keep payments to governments secret.
We welcome Shell’s invitation to discuss the OPL 245 deal... read more

Campaigners call on Shell to stop lobbying against new transparency laws
Royal Dutch Shell’s involvement in a deal which saw $1.1bn diverted into the hands of a former Nigerian oil minister could see the company lose a... read more

Read the press release here.
Afghanistan is endowed with minerals that could be worth a trillion dollars. Both the Afghan government and their international partners understandably hope these resources will fuel... read more

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How secrecy in the oil & gas sector and the use of anonymous shell companies led to hundreds of millions of dollars being diverted away from Nigeria’s citizens and into the hands of a convicted money-launderer... read more

Global Witness expresses its support for civil society colleagues who have walked out of the COP 19 Warsaw Climate Conference in protest at lack of progress towards an international deal to curb soaring global... read more

Download a PDF of this memo here.
What is the EITI?
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is an international coalition that works to support transparency and improve communication between... read more

At the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, Prime Minister David Cameron committed the UK to creating a central registry of the ultimate - beneficial - owners of all UK companies. He also promised a consultation on whether... read more

Click here to read the associated press release
日本語
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Global Witness investigations reveal systematic corruption in the forestry and land sectors of Sarawak, Malaysia’s largest state on the island of Borneo, and how... read more

This paper summarizes the implications for Uganda of the new international transparency requirements for the extractive industries agreed in the US and EU, and by the EITI, and provides policy recommendations for... read more

Beny Steinmetz Group Resources director set up company that promised bribes
BSGR misled with claims Pentler Holdings was set up independently
Representatives wired payments to president’s wife
Global Witness revealed... read more

简体中文
In the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern provinces of North and South Kivu foreign and Congolese armed groups and members of the Congolese army (FARDC) have made millions of dollars through illegal... read more

简体中文
Global Witness has grave concerns about Zimbabwe’s elections, scheduled to take place on July 31st. The elections, which should mark Zimbabwe’s transition to a more free and fair democracy, look instead to bear the... read more

French and German versions below.
Money launderers, corrupt politicians, terrorists, arms traffickers, drug smugglers, and tax evaders all rely on two things to move their dirty money: company structures that allow them... read more

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee, Global Witness staged a parade of “dictators” in protest at plans to water down upcoming European laws to make oil, mining and timber... read more

This article was published in the Financial Times on 24th February 2011.
Read press advisory on this issue.
Don't make it easier for dictators to steal
By Anthea Lawson, head of Kleptocracy campaign
The world may... read more

Read this article on The Times website.
We are desperately trying to rebuild British business after the financial crisis. Against that backdrop, you would think that an update to archaic anti-bribery laws that brings... read more

Read this blog on Huffington Post.
When governments around the world are taking measures in support of fiscal austerity, foreign assistance is always a prime target for the chopping block. Bravely, some governments,... read more

This piece first ran on the Guardian website.
The rich world has been busy tightening its belt in recent weeks, with Britain, Germany and Spain all announcing the severest economic cuts in generations and... read more

I was delighted to see Simon Singh's victory at the Court of Appeal last week, after a massively expensive, two-year fight to defend his right to contest the scientific opinion of the British... read more

By Charmian Gooch, Founding Director
It's ironic that it takes the hushing of the England football captain's affair to highlight the scale of a problem that threatens campaign groups like Global Witness ... read more

Blog from Global Witness Director, Patrick Alley
If the organisation of the climate talks in Copenhagen is anything to go by, even the best-intentioned negotiations would be lucky to succeed. Queues hundreds of metres... read more

Saving forests is topping the agenda of a UN summit on biodiversity in Japan. As the meeting enters its final days, there are growing fears that the talks could bog down amid acrimony between poor and rich countries... read more

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia and the first woman ever elected head of state on the continent of Africa, ordered the leader of her security team. We were driving along one of the scarce paved avenues in... read more

A founding myth in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea is said to have foretold the arrival of ExxonMobil, the American oil giant that is preparing to extract natural gas here and ship it overseas.
... read more

The London-based anti-corruption campaign group, Global Witness, said it has evidence that Teodorin Obiang, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of the tiny West African state of Equatorial Guinea, has plans to... read more

This article was published in the Financial Times on 24th February 2011.
Read press advisory on this issue.
Don't make it easier for dictators to steal
By Anthea Lawson, head of Kleptocracy campaign
The world may... read more

A U.S. diplomat called Equatorial Guinea's dictator of 31 years one of "the good guys" in leaked diplomatic cables urging Washington to engage with its third largest oil supplier or risk endangering energy security,... read more

Read this article on The Times website.
We are desperately trying to rebuild British business after the financial crisis. Against that backdrop, you would think that an update to archaic anti-bribery laws that brings... read more

The Guardian's environment editor and Global Witness's Davyth Stewart discuss what the climate summit in Cancun can achieve, and what role local action can play in bringing about such change.
Click here to hear the... read more